The Relationship between Nurses’ Self-Efficacy and Occupational Stress in the Critical Care Unit at King Abdul-Aziz Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Background: Nursing as a profession is considered highly stressful, with job-related stress adversely affecting nurses' health and abilities to manage job demands. The high levels of stress that nurses experience at work increase their risk of developing physical and mental health problems. It is well-known that stress is a major risk factor, while general self-efficacy (GSE) is a significant protective factor. To address this challenge, hospitals should implement a comprehensive strategy that enhances nurses' general self-efficacy and social support, among other measures. Methods: The study used a descriptive cross-sectional research design and recruited 117 critical care nurses (CCN) from King Abdulaziz Hospital (KAAH) using the convenience non-probability sampling technique. Results: The present study revealed that most nurses had high self-efficacy (31.30 ± 6.14), above the cut-off score of 22. However, most of them also reported having moderate occupational stress levels (45.62 ± 20.15) above the cut-off score of 39. It also showed that none of their demographics was significantly related to self-efficacy ( p > 0.05), except for their years of experience ( p = 0.004). Additionally, the occupational stress of the nurses did not depend on their demographics ( p > 0.05). Moreover, the results also showed no significant relationship between the nurses’ self-efficacy and occupational stress ( p = 0.199). Conclusion: Nurses often experience work-related stress that can impede their professional performance and affect their well-being. To mitigate stress, nurses must employ cognitive strategies to monitor their efficacy as workers. This study found no significant relationship between the nurses’ self-efficacy and occupational stress. Therefore, additional research is required to confirm or disprove the results of this study.